Planning and Developing Open and Distance Learning

A Framework for Quality

Reginald F. Melton

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• eBook ISBN: 9781134576340
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This book is aimed at those who are considering, or just starting to plan open and distance learning courses. It offers practical advice on how to find your students, expand your audience and become cost-effective without compromising quality. The main areas covered are:

• basic principles and different approaches to ODL
• different types of self-study materials, media, and student support from your institution
• building quality assurance into the development process

With a wide range of practical, tried-and-tested examples and case studies, the book provides a complete guide to setting up ODL courses.

Part 1
Aims of open and
distance learning

Although approaches to ODL may vary in the extent to which they place emphasis on what they strive to achieve and the ways in which they go about this, they tend to have a great deal in common, and in Chapter 1 you will find a review of typical aims of ODL. These are expressed in very broad terms, and include such ideals as ‘opening up education to students wherever they might be located’, ‘increasing access to education by removing unnecessary barriers’, ‘encouraging lifelong learning’, and so on. The intention is to draw your attention to the variety of aims underlying approaches to ODL, and to help you determine those that are most relevant to any approach to ODL that you might develop.

You will recognise that varying degrees of emphasis may be placed on these aims, and this is often reflected in the naming of an approach. For example, in the literature you will find references to ‘open learning’, ‘distance teaching’, ‘open and distance learning’, ‘open and distance education’, ‘open distance and flexible learning’, and ‘open distance education and lifelong learning’ to mention but a few – the terminology used typically seeking to draw attention to key characteristics of the approach adopted. Needless to say, the names of approaches to ODL would be impossibly long if they attempted to reflect all the aims underlying each approach, and, although the naming of an approach may be important in drawing attention to some of its key characteristics, it is more important to be clear as to the broad aims underlying the approach.

In reflecting on the aims you might hope to achieve through the devel-opment of ODL, you may find it helpful to think in terms of short-term and long-term aims, as this will help you to maintain a suitable balance between the realities of what can be achieved in the short term and the ideals of what might be achieved in the future.

1 Typical aims of ODL

Contents

Introduction

1.1 Opening access to education

1.2 Responding to student needs

1.3 The design of self-study materials

1.4 Student support

1.5 Cost-effectiveness

1.6 The quality of materials and systems

In perspective

Suggestions

Introduction

In this chapter you will find a review of the things that educators typically hope their approaches to ODL will be able to do. These are expressed in terms of broad aims, and include such ideals as those of ‘opening up education to students wherever they might be located’ and ‘providing students with regular, ongoing support’. You will find the aims discussed under six headings, and a few words on each should help place them in perspective.

The first group of aims is about opening access to education, that is, opening up opportunities for students to learn what they want to learn wherever they might be located. This is very much what open and distance learning is all about, and is reflected in the choice of words in the title ‘open and distance learning’.

The second group of aims is concerned with responding to student needs, and the use of the term ‘learning’ in the title ‘open and distance learning’ is a reflection on the extent to which related approaches place emphasis on the student-centred nature of ODL.

Within ODL self-study materials have an important part to play, and the effectiveness of such materials depends to a large extent on the strategies incorporated into their design. The third group of aims is therefore concerned with ways in which the design of self-study materials may facilitate student learning.

The quality of self-study materials is important, but their ultimate success will depend to a large extent on the provision of effective student support. Most laymen tend to think of ODL as operating at a distance with students studying in isolation, and to an extent this may be true, but one of the prime factors ensuring the success of ODL is the support provided in a variety of forms by tutors. This then is the focus of the fourth group of aims.

For educators and government officials contemplating the setting up of open and distance learning, one of the major attractions is its perceived cost-effectiveness when compared with traditional face-to-face teaching (FFT). You will in fact find that cost-effectiveness is dependent on ODL reaching out to relatively large numbers of students, and the next group of aims highlights some of the things that approaches to ODL must do if they are to be cost-effective.

Needless to say, although the cost-effectiveness of ODL may be important, it is equally important to ensure that the teaching provided is of the highest possible quality. Although it is important in any system of teaching to ensure that the quality of the teaching is as high as possible, it is even more important in ODL where teaching reaches out to large numbers of students and the teaching tends to be much more open to public inspection than traditional forms of face-to-face teaching. In any approach to ODL emphasis should therefore be placed on ensuring the quality of materials and systems to be used.

In the text that follows you will find discussion of the aims referred to above. Do reflect carefully on these, and identify those that appear relevant to any approach to ODL that you might hope to develop in your own area.

1.1 Opening access to education

Most developers of ODL are concerned with opening up education to a wider range of students. In the text that follows we will consider how ODL typically attempts to open up education to students wherever they might be located and how it tries to increase access to education by removing unnecessary barriers.

Open up education to students wherever they might be located

In its early days the UK Open University (the UK OU) gained particular recognition for the way in which it opened up opportunities for learning for UK students regardless of where they were located. It did this through the development of new, and more effective, methods of ‘distance teaching’. The basic philosophy was to take teaching out to students in their homes, their place of work, or other easily accessible centres rather than to bring students to the teachers. Initially the UK OU concentrated on reaching out to students throughout the UK, but it was not long before it began reaching out to students beyond its national boundaries – initially to students on overseas military bases and in parts of the Commonwealth – and now, with the help of on-line teaching, it is reaching out to students from all corners of the globe on an increasing number of courses (for example, on the MA in Open and Distance Education).

Increase access to education by removing unnecessary barriers

Although distance teaching has an important role to play in opening up education to students, access to education can also be improved by removing unnecessary barriers. The way in which the UK OU has tried to remove such barriers may help stimulate your thinking on this subject.

When it was established in 1969, the UK OU believed that traditional university entry requirements were an unnecessary barrier for many of its potential students, and from the beginning, although it advised applicants on what they would need to be able to do in order to cope with particular programmes of study, it left the decision on whether or not to enrol in the hands of the student. The university wanted to open its doors as wide as possible to potential students, and its name reflects this policy of open access.

Some institutions fear such an open policy, believing that failure to filter out less qualified students will lead to an inevitable lowering of standards of achievement. The Open University's response was to set clear standards to be achieved on their courses, ensuring that the standards set compared with those on similar courses in other institutions of higher education. However, where there were considerable discrepancies in initial knowledge, it was inevitable that less qualified students would need more time and support to achieve the standards set, and this tended to place them under considerable pressure. One of the solutions developed was to produce preparatory courses for each of the foundation courses, so that less qualified students could acquire an agreed level of knowledge and skills at a more leisurely pace prior to enrolment on the related foundation courses. In doing this the university opened its doors to many less qualified students who would otherwise have been unable to benefit from a higher education.

Over the years the UK OU has been very much concerned with opening access to students through the removal of unnecessary barriers and through the development and exploitation of distance teaching methods. However, not all institutions involved in open and/or distance learning place the same emphasis on this aspect. For example, at the time of writing, both the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico City have separate Open Education Units and Distance Teaching Units. In both institutions the prime purpose of the Open Education Units is to open up higher education to well-qualified students who have been unable to obtain traditional university places. However, the Open Education Units do very little teaching at a distance. Although students are provided with self-study materials, they are generally required to attend the central institution for tutorials and examinations, and the majority of students involved tend to live locally. In contrast, the Distance Teaching Units have used distance teaching to provide up-grading for professionals (such as social workers, nurses, managers, lawyers and engineers). However, their openness in terms of access has been somewhat limited in so far as the courses require traditional entry qualifications. Clearly the two institutions have developed different approaches to openness compared with that adopted by the UK OU.

1.2 Responding to student needs

Most institutions involved in open and distance learning place considerable emphasis on the importance of responding to student needs, and as such follow what is usually described as ‘a student-centred’ or ‘learner-centred approach’. One way of responding to student needs is to allow students as much freedom as possible to determine their own goals. Needless to say, we cannot help individuals to achieve their goals unless they want to be helped and have identified the goals they want to achieve. We should therefore do all we can to help students to recognise their potential – encouraging them to think rationally about what they would like to achieve and the benefits they might derive from this process. We also need to encourage them to see the process of self-development as ongoing, and as such we should do as much as possible to encourage lifelong learning.

Allow students as much freedom as possible to determine their own goals

Students are more likely to be motivated to achieve specified goals if they perceive them as important and relevant to their needs (Stotland, 1969), and one of the best ways of ensuring this is to give students as much freedom as possible to determine their own goals (Rogers, 1969).

In its early days the UK OU offered students a very limited degree of choice – largely because it felt that it had to establish its credibility as a university among its peers, and it therefore concentrated initially on the development of a sound undergraduate programme. This meant that the only courses open to students were within specific degree programmes, and as such they appealed to a very limited group of students. A wider range of courses was subsequently developed outside the undergraduate programme under the umbrella of Continuing Education. Covering such areas as health and social welfare, the new courses provided students with a much wider range of choice, but to an extent this was initially limited by the fact that students were required to enrol either on courses within the continuing education area or on an undergraduate programme. The barriers between the two areas have since been largely removed with students being encouraged to enrol on whatever courses they wish to take – regardless of whether these lead to a degree or not. However, they are clearly advised as to which courses, or combination of courses, can be counted for credit towards certificates, diplomas and related degrees.

Further freedom of choice is encouraged through student projects which are to be found on a wide range of courses throughout the university. In encouraging students to identify their own goals, the hope is that this will encourage them to become involved in the process of learning, that they will gain satisfaction and pleasure from what they do, and will be encouraged to take their studies further.

Help students to recognise their potential

One way of way of encouraging self-development is to expose students to situations and problems that make them aware of their existing limitations and the benefits that might be derived from further self-development. For example, students might be exposed to new ideas and new ways of seeing things through television programmes, visits to new environments, through special articles, and group discussions which challenge their way of perceiving things. However, care must be taken to ensure that such activities take place in a supportive environment, ensuring that such challenges are not perceived as threatening (Smith, 1980).

The logic behind such an approach is provided by Hunt (1971) who argues that the conceptual understanding of individuals moves progressively forward from simple to more complex levels, but with the risk of development being arrested at any given level if individuals feel satisfied with their existing level of conceptualisation. Further development then depends on individuals feeling dissatisfied in some way with their existing concepts, and with this in mind he recommends exposing individuals to situations and problems which challenge their existing concepts without overwhelming them.

Encourage lifelong learning

There is no doubt that all our lives are affected by the process of change. We are constantly being asked to function in different ways in our jobs (new methods of management), to operate new types of equipment (computers and other high technology devices), and to digest new forms of information (research findings), and we need to continually update our k...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• RoutledgeFalmer Studies in Distance Education
• Full Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures
• Foreword
• Introduction
• PART 1 Aims of open and distance learning
• PART 2 Characteristics of ODL
• PART 3 The development of materials and systems
• PART 4 Institutional support
• Bibliography
• Index